September 19, 2016
By Charlotte Kamman
We had done it: we were freshmen in MarinSEL, and super excited to be going on our first retreat! But we were nervous, too. After all, high school was a new concept and all the upperclassmen seemed to already know each other. It was intimidating and I, along with the rest of the graduating class of 2020, was a bit nervous and shy. That didn’t last long. As we became more confident and got to know each other better, the freshman class began to blend in with the rest of MarinSEL. At the retreat, we sung along to music during lunch, played some intense games of volleyball, did ropes courses, and went swimming. We also began to talk to the upperclassmen, who were exceptionally nice to us and had tons of advice.
Whether is was specific to MarinSEL, or just about high school in general, the stream of information we were getting was unstoppable. We were told about what to expect and what to do about it. Advice ranged from, “don’t stop on the staircases” to “look through past LEAD (Leadership and Environmental Action Development) project binders.” Older MarinSEL students made sure we knew we had someone to come to if we needed anything. The advice that the upperclassmen gave us made me feel more confident and prepared for high school.
High school survival tips weren’t the only thing that was being passed down by the upperclassmen. Especially in LEAD projects, the freshmen received the legacy of past MarinSEL classes. This could be seen specifically in my LEAD group’s project, the MSEL garden, because we pick up where the last class left off. The MarinSEL garden is an on campus garden that MarinSEL students have been in charge of for years. Each semester a new group of students plant, harvest, and sell produce in a sustainable and organic way that sets an example for the community. When my group was first learning about the garden we got a tour from last year’s group. It was amazing to see what they had done, and even more amazing to know that we would be able to do the next step and add even more. The garden is probably the most obvious part of MarinSEL’s legacy, but there is much more that is being handed down to us.
MarinSEL students have great reputation both in the community and the school. They have made a positive impact in the communityhelping improve the environment. At school, they seem accomplished and advanced academically. This puts pressure on our class to do well, but mostly motivates us. As was said in Spiderman, “with great power comes great responsibility.” The impressive work past MarinSEL classes have done makes our class extremely excited to take on responsibility of the MarinSEL legacy and and the opportunity to make a difference.
